How many people can be squeezed inside a Mini Cooper?

This was a favourite challenge in the early 1970s. For those who can remember what a Mini Cooper was like, other than its legendary fast pick up and road hugging ability, the Mini Cooper was a little fun car. And it was shaped like a small lunch box fit for a driver and a front passenger. The little space behind could squeeze a couple of adults in a very compromising manner but definitely not for two fat guys.

The challenge then was to squeeze as many bodies, living beans, into the Mini. And if I am not mistaken, the record was 17 or 18 bodies. How could they do it? The bodies were crumbled like contorted sausages, not the nicely sardine pack. And the poor guys or gals at the bottom must be gasping for air and feeling the weight. But never mind, they would not die of suffocation or compression. They would remain in that uncomfortable position for a minute or two before being dragged out to live another day.

The moral of the story is that you could force people into very uncomfortable little corners for fun, for a moment. But when you want them to stay that way for anything longer they would not be able to bear the discomfort. No way.

You want to squeeze in 10 million or 20 million people into this island? For goodness sake, get your head examined. Or you are going to rent out your properties for triple the value to live on your rent while you migrate to Australia or some bigger country to live a life of spatial luxury? The temperature is rising here. The people are angry and the foreigners took are losing their cool and bashing up the natives. And we only have 5.4m people today. You want to double that and double everything and think it is fun?

If it is to prove how clever you are to squeeze more people into a foxhole, just try to put more people into a 3rm flat for a try. I think I can easily stuff in 300 people with room to spare, like stuffing bodies into a Mini Cooper, to prove a point. But that kind of things are not for real, not a condition for people to live their lives.

Again, why would you want to squeeze 18 people into a Mini Cooper? Why do you madly want to put 10m or more people into this island to over populate it? The world leaders are trying to save the world by cutting consumption and reducing populations. What kind of fools are insisting on increasing population and consumption but turn around to exhort people to be green to save Gaia?

Kopi Level - Yellow

What kind of people to form the new govt?

A blogger writing under the name of United Opposition Front posted an article in the TRE with the title ‘Forming the new govt’. In his first sentence he wrote this, ‘Do we have in our opposition a viable alternative to become a credible government once PAP is defeated?’ The author’s thinking is that even if the PAP is defeated, which means the opposition parties have the number to form the next govt, there is still doubt about their ability to form a credible govt, and the problem is the quality of the new elected representatives.

Take a deep breath and ask yourself why was this author asking this question. The answer is simple. After so many years being fed by the same idea, the same message that only super talents, ie those with a string of As and masters or doctorates, are able to form a credible govt, one cannot think of anything else. This kind of condition is very dangerous. Ask yourself again, is this true? Let me make it clearer. Only super talents that are making millions in the professions are able to form a credible govt to run this country. Is this so? If you don’t get the idea, let me repeat, is this so?

If this is so, then the opposition parties must go out and recruit the straight As, the scholars, the doctors, the lawyers, and must be making millions or else not good enough. Is that so? If so, then the new govt must also prepare the same expensive budget to pay them in the millions or else they would not want to join them.

We have the same kind of people in govt, the straight As, the scholars, the top lawyers and doctors, aren’t they doing a very fine job? And if they are, why is there a need to want to replace them? What is the main reason to want to replace them and then to replace them with the same kind, with the same criteria and same thinking?

What I know as of today, not many opposition candidates are of these kinds, academically damn bright, making money damn clever. Think Low Thia Khiang. Silvia Lim, Png Eng Huat, Pritam Singh, Lee Li Lian and Mohamad Faisal. Chen Show Mao is the only exception.

Why are people voting for them in Aljunied, especially during the by elections when the bright and brilliant and exceptionally clever types were defeated by the ordinary Singaporean type? The only thing that the people saw in Png Eng Huat and Lee Li Lian and the Aljunied team is not academic brilliance and ability to make more money, but the heart. They saw a heart in the right place in every one of them. And they voted for a good heart, to serve the people.

Is a good heart not what the people are looking in the new candidates to form the next govt? Or are the people still being stuck with the idea that the people that are going to form the next govt must be of the same kind, the same type, the same mindset and aspirations as the PAP?

Anyone with reasonable intelligence and a good heart should be good enough to form the next govt. All they need is to think of the good of the people and country, and the super talented civil servants would be there to provide the expertise and the solutions. We need good men and women with good hearts, in the right place, with good intentions, to form the next govt. And I believe there will be no shortage of such people. Too clever people would have too many clever ideas, and if their hearts are in the wrong place, can create big and clever problems.

Ask the right questions and you will find the right answers. Ask the wrong questions and you will get the ‘right’ wrong answers.

Kopi Level - Green

Kshore Mahbubani – How to love Singapore

I saw this sticker on the top right hand corner of the ST today. I swear my eyes were not deceiving me. My first thought, goodness, this is deep trouble. I have written a few articles questioning whether Singapore would be in deep trouble. But this has nothing to do with Singapore. It was about Kishore. There are only two possibilities, between the devil and the deep blue sea. Is he growing stupider by the days? Or is he going senile?

Who does not know how to love Singapore if they are being paid by the millions and have all the riches in the world to last a few generations? Actually no need so much lah. Anyone who has the wealth of Kishore and be in his position would make loving Singapore so easy.

Kishore went on to explain how dirty Singapore has become and how Singaporeans can make it clean by loving Singapore. Here he unintentionally disclosed a little of his mental state. He claimed that the dirtiness of Singapore is the fault of Singaporeans. He didn’t even know the real cause. He made a farcical assumption that even a child in school would have told him off. For every two persons here, one is a foreigner. In fact if we include all the new citizens that are here for less than 10 years, it is likely that 60% or more of the people in the island are foreigners. So blaming Singaporeans for dirtying the island is a no good reason. And expecting Singaporeans, now a minority, to clean up the littering of foreigners, and Singapore will be clean is nonsensical.

Kishore went on to talk about happiness, about promoting Singaporeans to be like Lat and how the rich should help the poor Singaporeans. And he indulged in the same crap that if Singaporeans laugh a lot, even living in a pigeon hole they can be. When he quoted the experiment on how animals got unhappy and ate up each other in confined space I thought there is still some sanity in him. But he has proven beyond any doubt that senility is catching up with him. And I told myself, if he keeps on this way, I would write to the ST to publish his articles in the juvenile section.

But on reflection, reading the whole article all over again, he is getting to be like me, so innocent and appearing so naïve in what he wrote. Actually there are deeper messages in what he said other than the little distractions to lower the guards of his readers. His cartoonist part, about the ability to laugh at our ourselves and the names that he quoted, like Mahathir as a good example, and the names of people for people to ridicule, like Tommy Koh, Chan Heng Chee, Ho Kwon Ping and Gerard Ee. Look how clever he ‘eh lar’ the more meaning names to avoid saying the wrong things? This part shows that he is sane after all, and very smart by not suggesting himself to be the cartoonist’s joke.

His most important message in the whole article is in this phrase, ‘If our deeds do no match our words, we do not love Singapore’. He said this in the beginning of the article and to make sure the readers get his message and did not think he is really going nuts, he repeated this again, ‘Many of us say we do so. Here again, the one question is: Do our deeds match our words?’

Think about it, ignore all the rubbish that he spun in so many words. The gist is, ‘Do our deeds match our words?’ This phrase alone said what is bothering him about Singapore. And it is not about his $2 contribution to Sinda every month.  He would not give more or would want to stop contributing.

Kopi level - Green

China’s problem is stubbornness, not wanting to learn from Sin City

China is plagued by this huge problem of corruption. Xi Jinping is now going all out to curb corruption after Zhu Rongji failed to clean up the act during his watch. The more Xi Jinping dig, the bigger the problem revealed, as many top brass are taken out of the closet.
 
China could have avoided this big corruption problem if it had learnt all the good things from Singapore. China is a good student and has learnt many good things and is now so many times richer than Singapore. Its economy is complete in a way, with agriculture, manufacturing, financial services, engineering, high tech, almost anything you name it China would have it.
 
But China is also a stubborn student. The most important thing in Singapore’s success is anti corruption. Singapore is corruption free, or nearly, forget about what you read in the paper today, because no one in high position finds the need to be corrupt. The remuneration system for politicians and top govt officials is based on paying them so that they would not be corrupt. Singapore has succeeded. China has failed badly in this area by not paying their equivalent officials the kind of out of this world salaries. If China has done what Singapore did, there will be no corruption in China and Xi Jinping would not have such a big and dangerous task to tackle.
 
It is still not too late to learn from Singapore. Maybe they need not go all the way as that would be too much given the size of China’s economy. Just go half the mile will do and their politicians and top govt officials will not be tempted to be corrupt anymore. Maybe they were learning from Goh Keng Swee’s old principles of thrift and integrity, that civil service is a calling, an honour to serve, not about pay. Goh’s thinkings were long obsolete. Now there is a new thinking, new doctrine and new principles, accepting that human beans are human beans and will corrupt if not paid enough.
 
Would China learn from Singapore in this area and rid corruption from its system?

Kopi Level - Green

Enemies of the state

This is a tag that no one should be made to wear for all the wrong and frivolous reasons. The seriousness of this tag is that the person could see himself behind bars for life. This is no joking matter and people should not feel so free to hang this tag on anyone. How many people have been made to wear this tag and suffered the ignominy of being an outcast, of being a danger to the country, to live in disgrace and shame?
 
I let go a few outbursts at the sneaky IBs earlier. I also let go at Matilah Singapura for pinning a tag of xenophobia on me. The IBs were trying to discredit me as a person and would gradually try to hang me as anti establishment if they are not stopped in their acts. Matilah’s apparently nonsensical branding, readers don’t take him seriously and should not be an issue to the casual readers. But if given time, just like the centuries of propaganda against communism and China by the West, it will stick in the subconscious of people. And redbean would be associated with anti foreigners or anti establishment. I would not take this lightly.
 
I was told by some readers that if they used the mobile phone to access my blog they would be greeted by a warning message that they are entering an anti establishment blog. I wonder which creep gave this order, or which creep was ordered to attach this tag on my blog. I was told that this has stopped recently. Nonetheless I am very angry with this kind of irresponsible act. I will tell the creep who authorized it, the sneaky IBs, uncle redbean has spent the prime of his youth guarding national interests and state secrets. I have devoted more years of my life protecting this country and the asses of the creep and all the IBs combined. Do not simply put an anti establishment tag on me you assholes. Those in the establishment would know what I am talking about.
 
The western political philosophies have emancipated human beans from the yoke of oppression for centuries. To the Afro Asians, this yoke was removed more recently, when they got their independence from their colonial masters. Modern human beans of the 20th and 21st centuries must break free from oppression by the state and individuals who abused the power of the state.
 
Modern human beans must not accept the badge of authority at face value, the offices of authority blindly. Who are the enemies of the state? Who are the enemies of the people? There are rogue officers in uniform, rogue monks and priests, and of course rogue govts. And under the cloak or title of authority, these people could do more harm than good to country and people if they are left unchecked to do as they pleased. The goodness of govt, people in high offices, in positions of power must be judged by what they do in the interests of the country and people.
 
Are the opposition political parties and politicians enemies of the state and people? Are the critics of govt enemies of the state and people? Do not blindly assume that they are. Free yourself from the yoke of oppression of power and authority and think like a free man. Singapore is a democracy, not a kingdom or dictatorship. Singapore belongs to every citizen. And people elected to position of power are temporary in nature. If they served the people and country well, they will be reelected to govern. If they are against the people, against the interests of the people, they will be removed from power. This is democracy. This is your country.
 
Do not simply assume that people in positions of power or high offices are for the people and country, be they political leaders, civil servants or uniformed officers. Ask yourself a couple of questions, especially those in positions of authority, that you have never asked before, afraid to ask or do not think it is necessary to ask.
 
1. Can people in authority be acting against the country and the state?
2. Can people in authority be acting against the interests of the people?
 
Today I set you thinking the unthinkable. As citizens of a democracy, you must be constantly be thinking about these questions for your own good and the good of your children and the good of the country. Do not take this for granted. If you do not want to think, you may lose everything when rogues take office and sell out the country, sell your interests and the interests of your children.
Start thinking. Do not voluntarily replace the yoke of oppression on your own shoulders. Keep asking, keep questioning.

Who are the enemies of the state? Who are the enemies of the people?

Kopi Level - Green

US/CIA – How long can you masquerade as Human Rights Defender?

With the disclosure of the inhuman acts committed by the CIA against the Muslim/Arabs that they captured and tortured, the real Devil is now exposed. The ‘angels’ with the halo on its head and went around the world preaching goodness and human rights are the real devils in disguise. The hypocrisy, after what Wikileaks had leaked out, and what Snowden had exposed, may still not be enough to convince the dull and daft Afro Asians who are the devils They would still believe in the Devil that told them the Axis of Evil comprises North Korea, Iran and Iraq. These fools would not believe that the real Devil is standing right before their very eyes, the ‘angels’ in the name of Americans.
 
Who have heard of such sweet words like rectal feeding? Try imagining what the Muslim/Arab prisoners had to go through in the hands of ‘angels’? What about being ‘hung on the wrist for 22 days in a stretch, sleep deprivation of 180 hours either standing or in painful position, confined to a coffin size box, water boarding or another version called rectal dehydration. The phrases are so cool and attractive. They are specially crafted by the western media to sound pleasant and palatable.
 
It was so palatable that the low level CIA operatives refused to use them but were ordered by higher authorities to do it. How high are the higher authorities? At the CIA or at the White House? What is certain is that the higher it goes, the lesser the chances of them being prosecuted even what was committed were brutal crimes against humanity. No, none of them would be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. Remember, they are the ‘angels’.
 
Let’s hear what the ex CIA Directors got to say. ‘the CIA was not acting alone in carrying out the interrogation programme…Throughout the process, there was extensive consultation with the national security adviser, deputy national security adviser, White House counsel, and the Justice Department. The President approved the programme. The attorney general deemed it legal.’ What can you say about this?
 
There are still some Americans with the right conscience to expose these dastardly acts in the Congress. There will be people like Ben Emmerson, the UN Special Rapporteur on counter terrorism and human rights. He said, ‘The individuals responsible for the criminal conspiracy revealed in today’s report must be brought to justice, and must face criminal penalties commensurate with the gravity of their crimes…The fact that the policies revealed in this report were authorized at a high level within the US Government provides no excuse whatsoever. Indeed, it reinforces the need for criminal accountability.’
 
But experts are saying fat hope that this would happen to members of the Evil Empire. They even claimed ‘that the evidence was insufficient to obtain conviction.’ Can you believe that? And the evidence against Saddam Hussein was sufficient to murder him and invade his country and kill his people. And the ‘angels’ are waiting for an excuse to do the same to Iran and North Korea. Evidence is conclusive.
 
How many countries are accomplices to these wicked crimes against humanity committed by the American CIA and whoever authorized them? How many more American White Lies must the daft Afro Asians drink before they wake up from from their stupidity? The Ku Klux Klan were amateurs compared to this revelation.
 
The American devils knew they cannot pretend to be angels anymore and are preparing for a worldwide hit by the terrorists. It is Red Alert to all Americans in all corners of the globe. The hypocrisy has been exposed. There is no where to hide and no where to run. It is pay back time.

Kopi Level - Blue, thank you

Desiring 10m pop is not a hunger pang

Liu Thai Ker ‘urges city planners to adopt a long term perspective to find solutions for the nation’s requirement to house the 10 million…“The voices that I hear from social circles, newspapers, is to look at limitations first. ‘We don’t have land, so how can we look at population?’ If that’s the case, would people say since we don’t have money, we don’t eat tonight? But eating is the priority.”
 
What a stupid analogy! Would one die from not having 10m pop? What kind of stupid comparison? Do we need 10m pop? Why is there an urge to want 10m pop? We know that 10m pop will come with 10m problems. Why do we want or desire to have 10m problems when we have a choice not to live with the problems?
 
Are we asking for trouble, desiring for more problems so that we can prepare for it? Do we have other options? 10m is not an irresistible sexpot that is a must have by lusty old men. 10m pop is an excruciating pain in the arse. It is not just about building more flats, more roads, more trains and car parks and infrastructure. It is about more electricity and power, more water, more schools, hospitals, more food, more mouths to feed, more jobs to create, more human problems, more social problems and diseases and more people to live and to die. The problem is compounded when all these factors work against one another and work together. There would be the race and religion problems, the rich and poor divide, the class struggles. The bigger the population, the more diverse and heterogenous the pop, the more complex and complicated things would be. And I am only scratching the surface of these known and many unknown problems.
 
A simple mind like an architect would not be able to perceive the consequences and permutations of the problems that would be created. Liu Thai Ker should not overrate himself that he has the solution and could see it all. He did not see the problems of 5m population today for sure. Even a multi disciplinary team of experts would not be able to tell with any accuracy what it would be like.
 
What is so sexy about having 10m pop that die die must have? For those thinking green, it is wasteful thoughts, consuming and wasting natural resources. What the fuck does one gain by building every square inch of land available to stuff more people into it? Is that progress? Is that necessary? Is that a life and death option? Why ask for trouble when there is no need for it?
 
The simple question, What for? Has any seen the game when they tried to stuff as many bodies as possible into a Mini Cooper?

Kopi Level - Blue, thank you.